Ok, so the bonnet on my 225 Trophy was wrapped (around 4/5 years ago) by the previous owner in matt carbon vinyl. Now I don't mind the way it looks but it's starting to look tired and can see the lines appearing where the vinyl has basically weathered. Now I have been told by the chap who had the vinyl fitted that the bonnet was in mint condition underneath so it's not covering anything sinister. Question is, how is the safest way to remove the wrap? I was thinking some gentle heat (hair dryer) and peel it off slowly. Any tips?
Thanks mate, that was my plan. Gonna nab the mothers hairdryer as I don't have anything like that in my place. Then heat and peel it slowly. Then remove any residue with some tar remover. Then polish and protect.
Aaaarrghhhh this is doing my head in. This is the state of the vinyl wrap prior to removal, the white marks are where the vinyl has started to split and break apart. So I've made a start on it with a hairdyer and peeling off slowly.........apart from it's impossibly slow. This is the result of the vinyl breaking into tiny pieces constantly. If you don't apply enough heat, the wrap snaps and you have to find an edge again. If you apply too much heat the wrap stretches too much as you peel it and it snaps again. This took me 90 minutes to get this far so I gave up last night to carry on this evening...... Does anyone have any other tips for this? The vinyl has clearly perished (5 years old) and is proving to be a total pig. Sadly I think it's just going to be time consuming and there's no quick way round this but help!!!!! lol
Actually that's a clever idea that mate!! I may end up resorting to that. I have though just picked up a heat gun from Maplin which I hope can get enough heat into the panel to allow the wrap to peel off more easily and consistently.
You need the right amount of heat mate, too little will result in it breaking of in tiny bits too much and you will melt it in small strips. Heat gun is much better suited to a hair dryer. Steamer is best but stick with the heat gun.
Thanks mate, I've just bought myself a heat gun from Maplin so will give this a try. I'm hoping the heat will be more able to warm the panel better and retain the heat better where with a hairdryer you have to keep it aimed at it constantly which is a) uncomfortable and b) hard to do on your own haha.
Well the heat gun has certainly helped, as I hoped it managed to warm the panel enough to retain heat in the wrap to peel it off. I managed to remove about a quarter of the wrap last night. Got a friend coming round tonight who said he'd help so hopefully we'll get the rest done.
I know what your going through. I wrapped my whole meg by myself and after 4 years I removed all of the vinyl by myself! It took me a week to remove it all. Worst part was removing the glue residue thats left behind. I tried a lot of chemicals, but mineral spirits worked best. Good luck!
Thanks mate. I spent another hour outside with a mate last night. He's removed wraps before but never seen one go like this. Basically when you heat parts of it, the wrap comes apart and comes off in tiny pieces!
Well after all that, the bonnet is f*cked and being booked into a bodyshop!! lol I spent another hour going at the vinyl last night, noticing that on the few stone chips it had the paint/lacquer was lifting from what I assume was the heat (although not overly hot!) and the glue coming off. Trouble was the vinyl was lifting off the glue and 90%+ of the glue was remaining on the bonnet. Another job which would have taken me hours to finish. Anyway, a friend of mine came over who does smart repairs, I've seen his work and he's really good. Owns a VW show car himself so I know he's not all gung-ho with bodywork like some sprayers might be. He suggested trying a Caramel Wheel, which I'd never heard of but turns out to be a rubber wheel that's effectively softer than lacquer and used to remove decals etc. Well my bonnet didn't like this one bit, as it removed the vinyl it also removed the lacquer more significantly than the stone chips...........so that'll be a respray then. Gutted but to be honest I was at a loss at that point and had nothing too lose as I was already at the point where I was close to calling my usual bodyshop. Lessons learned? One, don't ever use textured carbon wrap and if you do don't leave it on the car 5 years and 2, don't use a Caramel Wheel to try and remove it if you have.
Wow looks like an absolute nightmare!! Glad it came off in the end but sorry you have to have a respray
Well it's not off yet, spoke to the bodyshop this morning and even they've said it's a b*stard of a job. They called a guy who they know does vehicle wraps and he wouldn't work out what the problem was! He asked if it was a professional job and I explained I'd had the receipt for it from the previous owner. It had cost him almost £200 when it was done so not a cheapo job. I'm hoping I'll get the car back tomorrow.
Am I right in assuming the sport bonnets are the same as a standard meg? If so think I'd have acquired another by now and just had that sprayed!
WellI had certainly considered that but if I'd be buying a new bonnet anyway, I'm as good off doing what I've done and just let the body shop remove the wrap and re-srpay. At least I keep the car as original as I can do. Car is nearly ready, the wrap required thinners and then scraping off the bonnet along with the glue left over. I wanted to try removing it myself first in the hope it would come off like a normal wrap. Sadly not.
